Grasso Seeks $50 Million From Nyse

Briefcase - News of note

July 21, 2004

Richard Grasso, the ousted head of the New York Stock Exchange, sued the exchange and Chairman John Reed, accusing him of waging "a one-sided war of words." The lawsuit filed in New York state court seeks at least $50 million. It's a response to a suit filed in May by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to recover more than $100 million of Grasso's pay. Grasso, the NYSE's chairman and chief executive from June 1995 until September 2003, resigned after the exchange disclosed that he received $140 million in compensation.

LOCAL

AIRLINE ANNOUNCES FARE SALE

British Airways said Tuesday that it would hold a three-day airfare sale beginning Thursday on flights from Orlando to London and more than 20 other European cities. Round-trip fares to London start at $258 for travel beginning Oct. 28 and ending Dec. 16. Other sale prices are available for travel between Feb. 28 and May 29, 2005. The packages also include special hotel rates in London; Paris; Prague, Czech Republic; Madrid, Spain; Rome; and Stockholm, Sweden.

FOR THE RECORD - ********** CORRECTION OR CLARIFICATION PUBLISHED JULY 24, 2004 **********An item in the Briefcase-News of Note feature on Page B3 of Wednesday's Money section about a British Airways fare sale contained incorrect dates. The three-day sale ended Thursday.*************************************************************

SANFORD AIRPORT HAS RECORD JUNE

A record 194,981 passengers used Orlando Sanford International Airport in June, a 60 percent increase compared with June 2003, airport officials said. The previous record of 181,790 was set in August 2003. The airport handled a record 86,191 domestic travelers in June, up 105 percent from June 2003. The number of international travelers, 108,790, was up 36 percent.

STATE

ECKERD TO LAY OFF WORKERS

Eckerd Corp. plans to lay off about 1,400 management and support workers at its Largo headquarters, as the pharmacy chain prepares to change owners. The jobs will be cut from Aug. 1 through Jan. 31, according to a notice filed with the state. J.C. Penney Co. Inc. agreed in April to sell Eckerd's stores to rivals CVS Corp. and Jean Coutu Group Inc. in two deals valued at $4.53 billion. The sale is expected to close by the end of the month. Coutu will receive Eckerd's headquarters. Its U.S. subsidiary, Brooks Pharmacy of Warwick, R.I., is mentioned as a possible candidate for the displaced workers.

NATION

CINGULAR UPGRADES ITS SYSTEMS

Cingular Wireless on Tuesday said it has completed a nationwide conversion to upgrade its voice and data systems to use GSM technology. GSM enables data transfers at speeds roughly equivalent to those obtained with dial-up Internet connections. It also improves the quality of cellular voice communications. The Atlanta company invested $3.4 billion in the improvements.

EARNINGS

Ford Motor Co.'s finance arm drove second-quarter earnings, which nearly tripled from a year ago, but its automotive business struggled despite improved results in Europe. Ford said it earned $1.2 billion, or 57 cents a share, in the April-June period compared with a profit of $417 million, or 22 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $42.8 billion from $40.6 billion.

Continental Airlines Inc. reported a $17 million second-quarter net loss, citing the high price of jet fuel, low fares and the cost of retiring leased aircraft. The loss of 26 cents a share compared with a net profit of $79 million, or $1.10 per share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose to $2.5 billion from $2.2 billion.

Sun Microsystems Inc. earned $795 million, or 24 cents per share for its fiscal fourth quarter compared with a loss of $1.04 billion, or 32 cents per share, in the same period last year. Sales rose 4.3 percent to $3.11 billion. For the year, Sun lost $376 million, or 11 cents per share, on sales of $11.19 billion.

AutoNation Inc., the largest U.S. retailer of new and used cars, said second-quarter earnings fell 13 percent from sales that were below expectations. Net income decreased to $92.1 million, or 34 cents a share, from $106.3 million, or 37 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose slightly to $4.99 billion from $4.98 billion.